Paris Hilton spots 'tiger' ... on safari in South Africa

Paris Hilton found herself the subject of ridicule this week after she enthusiastically tweeted about spotting tigers while on safari in South Africa.

While Hilton, 29, did not mention where she, her sister Nicky and two cousins had embarked on safari, the accompanying pictures made clear it was not Johannesburg Zoo – where they have successfully bred Siberian Tigers.

Aislinn Laing in Johannesburg

5:15PM BST 09 Jul 2010

The American socialite, who has been in the country for the past week to watch the World Cup and take in the sights, wrote from safari: "So many amazing animals here – Elephants, Tigers, Zebras, Cheetahs, Rhinos, Hippos, etc. So awesome!"

While elephants, zebras, cheetahs, rhinos and hippopotami are in plentiful supply in South Africa, tigers – which are native to Asia – are not.

While Hilton, 29, did not mention where she, her sister Nicky and two cousins had embarked on safari, the accompanying pictures made clear it was not Johannesburg Zoo – where they have successfully bred Siberian Tigers.

The blonde – possibly nudged by some of the 4,000 people who follow her on the social networking site – soon realised her mistake.

The dubious spelling did not end there as the Hilton hotel heiress joyfully recounted her adventures in Africa to friends back home.

Hilton, who was briefly arrested on suspicion of smoking cannabis during a World Cup match in Port Elizabeth last week before being released without charge, went on to tweet: "Ella the Elaphant", "A Huge Cute Elaphant", and: "So amazing, sitting outside eating lunch and there are a family of 5 Elaphants only feet away from us. So incredible!"